Fish-hatchery pond



Mar.; .3. 1925. 1,528,179

. H. L. BALDRIDGE v FISH HATCHERYPOND 2 Sheets-'Sheet 1 Mar. 3. 1925.

- i H. L. BALDRiDGE FISH HATCHERY POND Filed Aug. 1s, 192; 2 sheets-Sheet' a game/nt. y

Patented Mar. 3, 1925.

UNiTED maar Aorrrcn. f

vIHE'NRYML. BALDRIDGE, 0F -STEILACOOM LAKE, rNEAR TACOM'An IYWASHINGTON..

FISH-HATCHEBY PON D.

Application inea Angustia-1,923. fseriai'no. 6573193;

To 'all ywhom 'it may concern.'

" Be it known that I, HENRY L. Banni-linen,

Steilacoom Lake, county ol' Pierce, State invented certain new a citizen ot-the United States, residing at near in the have Tacoma, of Washingtoin and uset'ul Improvements in Fish-Hatchery Pondsgot whichthc following ris a specilication.

This invention Arelates -to ponds in lish hatcheries and especially to the ponds Yin which tlie'tish are reared.

the section in which the provide a definite The objects ot' the invention are to provide a vpond in which all refuse will be quickly eliminated from lish naturally swim; area in which such retusewill collect; to provide means where-- by the refuse may be quickly cleanedazway without disturbing thelisli; and thus to provide an efficient rearing operated y Construct s and and cared for, which permanent in character.

pond which isr easil37 is cheap to I attain these and other objects by the drevices and arrangements companying drawings,

illustratedin the acin which:V Fig. l is a plaii=-o$t the complete pond; Fig. 2 is a plan ofthe-.overflow drain and retusecollccting chamber in normal use.; Fig; 3 is a similar view showing the overflow drain removed andthe refuse 3y the flow ol' water; section on the line ,4l-4 is a vertical sec-tion on being carried vawaj; Fig. 4 is a vertical in Fig. 2 andliigg the line 545 inFig.

S; Figt is a plan of another form ot refuse collecting chamber in 'normal similar view showing it beingcleared is a out. Y

Similar use; and Fig. 7

numerals of reference reter to similar parts throughout Ythe .several views. The usual method ot cleaning out a tish rearing pond takes a considerablelength ot time and much much disturbance to the `vention I have overcome allthese diiiiculties refuse to be carried by water-.to a central chamber by causing all the the vcirculating labor and is the occasion ot fish. In my inhaving an area ot' substantially quiet water in which such matter collect-s, thus keeping the major portion of tree of contamination; chamber from the pond llow pipe thus emptying y collected refuse,

clearing out the said at the same time main pond to wash and t the pond constantly then I close ott, this and remove the overthe chamber and and I permit a flow from the out the said chamber; is ettect is reached in a very few minutes time with substantially no labor vthat point yand similar angles..

chantiber "ot 'wooden' pipe.,

endotthe overtlow pipe 5.

` mally gives free the radius andthe tangent ofV the pond at all said streams being at The excess water leaves the pond at the center and thus these streams cause a spiral. motion Ato the current in the l pond.

At the center 3 and the drain outlet, pipe 4 is located at thecenter of this chamber. 'VIhe overflow pipe 5, preterablg-7 made of a length in thev pond land chamberl 3. A. suitable screen 6 is mountedon the otherwise open The Wall 7l ot the chamber does not completely-close said chaniber but leaves an opening 8 which-norlaccess ot the water, the fish.,

and the refuse into the chamber' 3. Now

the spiral current of -he water carries all vr-el'use with it towards the center the opening.' 8 into f the circular I and rthus through chamber 3, but-the said current passes ward Vin the chamber to ilow out over floor oit the pond vl. All is thus carried by, the3 vstreamisdeposited in this area ot dead water near thel base ofthe overflow pipe 5 land therefore near thc-mouth of the drain 4. W'hen it is desired to clean out this refuse, a screen 9 is placed in the opening 8 in the wall7, ot such a tinemesh as may prevent the passage therethrough of the tish in'thepond l; lifted out of the end of the drain pipe 4 and the water in the chamber 3 immediately flows violently out through said drain and carries all the collected refuse with it. As' the level ot the water in the chamber 3 is lowered the water in the pond l passes through the screen 9 and further washes out the bottom of the chamber. Then the pipe 5 is replaced and the Water again rises in the pond and the chamber until it reaches of the pond I form a refuseV tits loosely in and closes the direct entrance to thedr'ain 4 and extends upward therefrom and is of such height fas mayT be desired lfor the depth of thev water the 'top' ot the overflow pipe 5 thus leaving an down` so that the drain entrance then the overflow pipe 5 is the normal level at the height of the overflow pipe 5. All this has taken a very few minutes and since the volume of the chamber 3 is very small as compared to that of the pond l, it is evident that the level of the water in the pond is scarcely lowered at all and the fish therein have not been disturbed except in the small area immediately adjacent to the opening 3 and, even there, the current created by the fall into the chamber 3 is of gradually increasing strength but is not greater than would be met in many places in a natural stream. In the normal operation of the pond, when the screen 9 is removed from the opening 3, the fish do not readily enter the chamber 3 but remain in the main pond l but, in case any should be in the chamber when it is desired to clean it out, they are easily driven out through the opening 8 before the screen 9 is placed therein, because they naturally swim against the current and would therefore pass out of said opening.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown another form of the collecting chamber and this form is perhaps better adapted for use when the lish are very small. In this case the central chamber 3() is not completely circular in plan but the walls 3l thereof may be spiral, or of some similar shape, in plan as shown, so as to provide an enclosed chamber 30 with a spiral entrance 32 between substantially parallel sections of the said wall 3l. This entrance passage has two points therein in which screens may be placed if desired. When very small fish are in the pond the inner screen may be placed at 33 (shown dotted in F ig. 6) and, in that case, the refuse will collect in the passage 32 and the lish will not enter the chamber proper.

vThen the outer screen 34C (Fig. 7) is placed in position and the inner screen 33 is removed thus causing the rush of water, when the overflow pipe 5 is removed, as above, to sweep all the refuse collected therein into the chamber 30 and out through the drain 4l. In this ease the opening of the passage 32 is directly in the line of the revolving or spiral current in the pond and the screens 33 and 34: are at right angles to the stream. Fish will not naturally enter this passage 32 because they would have to go inlwith the current in order to do so.

It is, of course, understood that the pond may be constructed of any size and material convenient but I prefer to use concrete walls and floor for all parts. I prefer to make the diameter of t-he main pond about thirtyfive feet and that of the chamber 3 about Five feet six inches, and the depth of water in the main pond about three feet. The overflow pipe 5 may be conveniently made of wood, as stated, but in any case it should be of light material so as to permit of easy handling. rIhe floor of the main pond is usually not made with concrete but is covered with a thickness of gravel. The lish screens 9 and 34: should be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the water thereon when the chamber 3 or the passage 32 are being drained, and they may be made either with the screen part covering the entire surface or a part may be solid material and the rest of screening. The mesh, however, must be such as to prevent the passage of fish tl'ierethrongh. In practice I prefer to locate the inlet pipes 2 near the floor of the pond as, in this way, the refuse is more thoroughly evacuated than if the stream is stronger at the top, and it is understood that each such inlet pipe 2 is controlled by a suitable valve as shown.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim is l. A fish rearing pond comprising a circular main pond; water supply pipes entering said pond at an angle; a refuse chamber in open communication with said main pond and positioned at the center thereof; a drain at the center of the refuse chamber; and an overflow pipe closing the direct entrance into the drain pipe whereby the water in the pond is given a spiral motion towards the center and an upward motion in the central chamber and whereby the refuse from the main pond is collected on the floor of the refuse chamber.

2. A fish rearing pond as set forth in claim l, together with a removable closure in the entrance to the refuse chamber, and wherein the overflow pipe is removable whereby, when the pipe is removed, the water and refuse in the chamber are drained out.

3. A fish rearing pond as set forth in claim l, wherein the wall of said central chamber is continuously curved and the opening into the chamber is between its ends.

HENRY L. BALDRIDGE. 

